Jose Salazar to Abigail Street

About a week ago, I heard from a friend: “Jose Salazar is leaving The Palace to work for a local restauranteur who needs more time out of the kitchen. It’ll be a lot closer to you.”

I pressed for details. None. Could I guess? Yes, but he wouldn’t confirm. My first guess? Abigail Street. A couple of days later, once Salazar’s staff at the Palace knew he was leaving, he confirmed.

Jose Salazar is indeed going to Abigail Street, effective this week. It’s a natural fit for Salazar and Dan Wright, who are good friends (Salazar has often been spotted hanging out at Senate after The Palace has closed on weekends). “It’s great to be able to put a guy I trust in charge of the kitchen,” Wright said. He’s encouraging Salazar to play– so we might see some new, different things out of the kitchen (please keep the baklava, Jose. Please.). Salazar’s style– ingredient-focused, interesting, and firmly seated in his experience in Thomas Keller’s kitchen as well as his own background ( South America, Pennsylvania and New York all play a part in his childhood)– is a great match for Abigail Street’s cuisine. It was completely logical.

This frees up time for Wright to tend to his twins, and also to look at new ventures in Cincinnati. There are some interesting things in the works, between Salazar opening his own space and Wright looking at options in the city. Do you remember a time when there was so much exciting stuff going on in the city? I don’t.